Chelsea completed their first signing under new owner Roman Abramovich on Tuesday, buying West Ham United defender Glen Johnson for six million pounds ($9.67 million).

Chelsea said on their website the fee for the England under-21 international was the highest the club had paid for a teenager, surpassing Nigerian Celestine Babayaro's 2.25-million-pound move in 1997.

The 18-year-old right back, who signed for five years, is due to fly out to Italy to join the rest of the premier league squad in their pre-season preparations, the club said.

British newspapers have linked Chelsea with several high-profile players -- including Arsenal's Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, Edgar Davids of Juventus and Inter Milan's Christian Vieri -- since Russian billionaire Abramovich took over the London club two weeks ago.

Last week they agreed a deal with Real Madrid to sign Cameroon international midfielder Geremi for 10 million euros ($11.31 million) and are discussing personal terms with the player.

Blackburn Rovers said on Tuesday they had turned down three bids from Chelsea for their Ireland winger Damien Duff.



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